


Back to the Basics

by Aku13



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Bruce Wayne is Batman, DC comics - Freeform, Detective Comics, Jason Todd is Red Hood, dc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2019-10-21 05:03:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17636462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aku13/pseuds/Aku13
Summary: Batman faces a situation where technology has failed him, it's time he fell back into some good old fashioned detective work.





	1. Worst case scenario

**Author's Note:**

> This story will focus on a more barebones version of Batman.

It has been three months since Batman returned from his long mission with the Justice League. Gotham seems to have been at peace while he was away. The Gotham Rogues' Gallery either was secured in Arkham or still in hiding. While the city seems like it is safe from the worst of the worst, several hidden criminal organizations have been increasing activity in the city. Batman stood on top of one of the gargoyles, tapped into GPD dispatch for any crimes worthy of his attention. The wait was longer than usual, eventually, a signal finally caught his attention. “All units in the east downtown area, Shots fired within 45th-50th east street. All available units needed. Approach with caution.” That was his cue; Batman launched and glides down into the cockpit of the Batwing as it flew below to catch him. With all due haste, the Batman rocketed over to the shooting.

5th floor of an apartment complex, a living room with a flip table, cash and cigarettes butts scattered all over the floor. Two men in the corner, each having taken gunshot wounds to the abdomen. One man was being held by the throat by someone wearing a red mask, brown leather jacket, and a Kevlar vest with a red bat logo at the center who was armed with a pistol in his free hand.  He had the pistol pointed at the second man, who was lying on the floor in the fetal position. “Tell me where your boss is hiding!” The Red Hood began questioning the man he held. “Fuck you! You work for the Bat! Ya ain’t gonna to kill me!” Jason Todd was always short on patience. Turning into the Red Hood did little to improve that shortcoming. With a resigned sigh, Jason threw the man to the ground and fired a round through his kneecap. The man screamed, clutching his bleeding leg. Jason pointed the gun at his head. “Let me make something clear, I am not Batman, which means I have no problem blowing your brains out. Now, are you are going to tell me where your boss is, or are things going to have to get messy?” Just as the terror began to take effect the signature grappling hook shot through the window ensnaring Jason's wrist.“Oh, shi-”

The rope retracted at high speeds, pulling Jason out of the window and slamming him into the neighboring building. The sudden forceful exit from the window and an even more sudden collision with the brick wall caused Jason to drop his gun. He was also sure his shoulder was dislocated upon impact with the brick wall. It was only a second before the rope would pull again and drag him into the shadowy room. Just as Jason got up on his feet Batman would ram him full force into a brick wall next to the door. Kevlar is good at stopping most bullets from killing him. But up against a pissed off Batman there's little defense against that. 

There are less than a handful of people could disarm and subdue the Red Hood. It wasn't a mystery who had interrupted his interrogation. His former mentor held his arm at a twisted angle and kicked the legs out from under him. Jason had been trained to get out such holds but a dislocated shoulder slightly complicated things. “You know Bruce, I've had gotten more dislocations and broken bones than phone calls from you...Maybe this is why Alfred suggested we try family therapy.”

“Why were you trying to kill those men Jason?”

“They cheated me in poker and I was going to use that money for dry cleaning. So hard to find a reliable place to get blood out of your clothes nowadays.” 

Batman put pressure on Hood's dislocated shoulder. Barely a grunt or groan came out of Jason. Jason refuses to show weakness in front of his enemies and right now that includes the Batman. Jason paid keen attention to where Batman was looking. An escape plan would need to be quick and precise.

“Why were you attacking those men!?” Batman was getting angrier.

“Wait, you mean you really don’t know who those guys were?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh Bruce, either these guys are really good or your security system really dropped the ball this time.”

“Stop stalling! Who are these men Jason?”

“They’re traffickers who've been grabbing people right off the streets. They've been here for months, and you failed to notice them!”

Batman was silent. He knew Jason spoke the truth, and something horrible must have happened if his fail-safes neglected to find these criminals.

“I’ll take this ring down Jason. Get out of this city before I have to force you out.”

“You had your chance to keep this city safe, Bruce. Once again you failed, now it's my turn to clean up this mess. Do me a favor and stay out of the way” 

Batman put pressure on Jason's dislocated shoulder again, while at the same time Jason quietly slipped a flash bomb from his side pouch.

“And how do you plan on doing that Jason?”

“I'm not one for spoiling the plot, dad.”

 A flash of light came from below and Batman was blinded. His grip on Jason slacked just enough for an escape to be made. Jason strikes Batman in the jaw knocking him off balance. A few seconds later Batman was able to see but Jason was gone. Batman took to the window, the police arrived and the EMTs took the would-be traffickers to the hospital. They're still breathing for the time being, but the Red Hood isn't known for letting criminals he targets get away. It may be worth keeping an eye on them, either Jason or even fellow traffickers may pay these men a visit. Batman watched the forensic team gather up evidence. They were as much at a loss as Batman was. He needed to figure out who these Traffickers were and how they bypassed his Security measures. Technology has failed, it was time for the world greatest detective to go back to basics and solve this mystery before Jason bathed the streets in blood. Batman had been a hero for years, but before that, he was known as a detective. Time to put those skills to use.


	2. Gathering the Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Batman is growing increasingly more frustrated. Failsafes left to protect the city have failed, Jason is still on the lose, and a vacancy left in the criminal underworld may be filled. How will the caped crusader proceed?

 

A few hours have passed since Batman’s encounter with Red Hood. Batman sat in his chair at the Batcave while Alfred brings down a sandwich and a glass of water. Alfred puts it down on a table next to Batman and stands behind him. Seven screens are in front of Batman, five having pictures and profiles of Bane, Black Mask, Scarface, Penguin, and Two-Face. Of the five, Black Mask and Scarface have red “X’s” over their face. Screen six is scanning locations in Gotham and marking any matches found. Screen seven showed an empty room with a tomb covered with heavy locks. No clear indication who is in the tomb, other than one single playing card of a Joker on top of the tomb. Alfred remains behind Batman and spoke with a calm tactfulness that butler with his age has long since mastered.

“I made you a meal master Bruce. As I am sure you haven’t eaten all day.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Then I will not leave until you have eaten it. And I know you are going to stay up until the sun shows, I guess I'll have to stay up later than that to make sure you are all ready for your late afternoon appointments. A man my age shouldn’t be staying up so late, but as your butler, I must insist risking my health for your needs Master Bruce.”

 

Batman grumbled and grab the sandwich and starts eating it. A flash of satisfaction appeared on Alfred’s face, it stayed just long enough for Batman to notice. Batman went on to fill Alfred in on the new developments of the case. 

“What have you been able to put together so far sir?” said Alfred

“It can’t be any of the major crime bosses in Gotham. Two are confirmed dead, Harvey has been going through such intense therapy that he can’t even make choices without it being suggested to him. Penguin and Bane are still in jail and all of them have been lacking any source money since the three-day war in Gotham.”

 

A dark time that was. Joker started a war between all the villains in Gotham. Taking all that could be found in their safes and bank accounts, while providing them all with weapons and gear. He sent a message to them all that they must kill and send a picture to confirm the death of every villain and Batman family member in Gotham. The last one to live and confirm all the kills would not only get all the money Joker stole but also all of the supposedly vast Joker fortunes he has amassed over the years. The assessment was almost expected to be in the billions. The Joker’s plan was to stop after three days, but the money was never found. 

 

“Then if it can’t be any of these men or any villain in Gotham, why are you looking at these five?” Alfred ask.

“The apartment complex used to be own by Bane. His men and their family lived for free as one of the benefits of being part of his gang. That had me thinking, who became the owners of the properties? The GPD  seized the Properties and sold to the highest bidders. Said properties were bought by three major companies. Lexcorp, Phoenix Inc., and Phantom Tech.”

 

“Well, I know Lexcorp and the potential misdeeds they could use that property for. But who are Phoenix Inc. and Phantom Tech?”

 

“Phoenix Inc. is a new construction company that takes city contracts to repair cities after major disasters. Phantom Tech is a cybersecurity protection company based all around Europe. They have been on the rise as of late, being one of the most prolific security companies in Europe and Canada. Recently they have been contracted to work in the US. Wayne Enterprises is supposed to be having a meeting with them soon for a possible contract. I should join that meeting, it will be happening at the end of the week. That will give me a few days to look at other leads.”

 

As if on cue, Batman gets a call from Robin. Batman answers the call. 

 

“What did you find out Robin?”

“Well, the good news is the men arrested are not dead yet. The bad news is they are not saying anything. Cops have been trying but the lawyers are already here. I did notice they are not the usual public defenders. These look like high-end professionals that Penguin would use. They already negotiated a pretty solid protection deal due to the risk of a Red Hood assault. On top of that, Cops actually can’t find any solid evidence that these men are traffickers.”     

 

Not something Batman wanted to hear. The police won’t be able to hold these men for long, and it’s unlikely they will be able to offer any noteworthy protection if Jason chooses to finish the job. If these men die by Jason's hands, then these lawyers will keep the GCPD so busy with lawsuits they will no longer be a useful ally to Batman. “Stand by Robin.” Batman hit a mute button and started rubbing his temples.

 

“Something wrong master Bruce?” Alfred ask.

“Am I hunting a ghost, Alfred? I've gotten word that a criminal group has formed in Gotham from murderous gangs of outlaws. Am I too personally attached? Am I looking into this because it's Jason who told me? Should I just put all my focus into finding him instead of a Trafficking ring that may not exist?”

“Master Todd has many issues, sir. I will not defend his methods of punishing crimes. But if there is one thing I believe you two have in common is your intuition towards the mind and motives of criminals. If you believe someone is a criminal, I wouldn’t doubt you for a moment, Master Bruce. If Master Todd believes these men are part of a human trafficking ring, then I will not doubt him either.”

 

Batman stared at the screen for a moment. His face went from signs of regret to normal focused Batman face. He pushes the unmute button.

 

“Robin, were you able to find anything from the GCPDdatabase regarding any increase of missing persons or kidnapping reports?”

“I did some asking around. Strangest thing, according to the records, Missing persons and kidnapping cases have gone down in the last few months. The few that have been filed have been solved by us rather quickly. It’s always been drunk students getting lost and a family member or friend freaking out.” 

“Get me information on the lawyers, I want to look into who they normally defend. Keep an eye on those men, police may need backup if Jason shows up. Batman out.”

 

Batman hangs up and finishes the sandwich half he was eating. He presses another button and hears a phone start ringing. A woman answers.  


“Wayne Enterprise, Bruce Wayne’s office How can I help you?”

“Hi Stacy, this is Bruce.”

“Oh, hi there Mr. Wayne. How was your vacation in Switzerland?” 

“It was wonderful. Skiing is wonderful this time of year. Hey, I heard we are having a meeting with Phantom Tech this week. Can you let everyone know I want to take part in the interview?”

“Oh, but of course Mr. Wayne, I will let them know you will be at the interview on Friday at 10 am.”

“Thank you, Stacy, I will see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow Mr. Wayne.” 

 

After the call ended, Batman sets up for another call and starts eating the other half of his sandwich.

 

“What makes Phantom Tech such an interesting suspect to this case?”

“Before I went on that last mission with the Justice League, Tim, Barbra, and I designed an algorithm and installed it into the emergency services center based in Gotham. It was supposed to isolate more high-risk crimes from 911 calls and send the info to us. This would allow one us to arrive at crimes faster in order to stop them. If the system has failed, then it would need someone or a group of people to access and tamper with the Algorithm. Phantom Tech hires some of the best programers in the western market. If any group that is currentlybasedin Gotham could break into the Algorithm, it highly likely Phantom Tech.” 

 

Right as Batman finishes talking, his call came through. A woman's voice is on the other side. Her tone expresses frustration and worry.

 

“This is Oracle.”

“Oracle, what were you able to find outabout the Algorithm?”

“I did a full diagnostic of the system and found there were some keywords that were set to be seen as not priority highlights, such as kidnap or missing. I looked into the emergency services center database and I can’t find any phone reports connecting to kidnapping or missing persons for the last three months. But that can’t be possible because I help the police and members of the bat family track down missing drunk students in that period of time. We had a few slow nights so we didn’t use the Algorithm for this. We just listened to police radios for some easy crimes.”

“Was the Database or Algorithm down at any point while I was gone?”

“No, the only point the Algorithm was down was today for Maintenance. There was no attempt to force their way in or use of a trojan. I hate to say it Batman, but I think someone found the backdoor we set up for the Algorithm. If that the case, they pretty much have admin access to the whole program and I wouldn’t know about it. Should I shut down the program?”

“No, I don’t want to tip them off. I’m going to check the servers and see if they accessed the program that way. Batman out.”

 

Batman ends the call and finishes the sandwich. He then took a sip of water and took a look at Alfred. 

“These people are smart enough to access the Algorithm and emergency services database to erase reports. They've been able to access the police database and erase their files as well. Either they remotely hack into the database, or someone from the inside has given them clearance.”

“Despite commissioner Gordon best efforts to remove corruption from the police force, I can imagine there are still many bad apples who would have access to the database. But there seems to be more to it. The thugs that were taken down have access to costly lawyers to protect them.”

“Alfred, if you were the head of a human trafficking ring that wanted to kidnap people off the streets but keep the risk of having missing person reports sent to the police as low as possible, what type of people would you target?”

“Well Master Bruce, if it was up to me I would target people who wouldn’t be noticed if they were suddenly gone.”

 

Batman gets up and starts taking off his costume and heads over to a locker area of the Batcave. 

“Alfred, get my disguise kit ready, I’m going for a walk.”


	3. Years Ago

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A flashback to when a certain clown's crew was gathered together. In this chapter, we learn just a bit more about Bob and his ties to Joker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey all, many thanks for dropping by and giving the new chapter a read. This chapter will be broken up into 2 parts, part A tell a story of the past, and B will take place in the present.

Bob sat at the bar at Porky’s, seeking to take a break from the tedious debriefs of the henchmen. Once a month all the henchmen gather to share drinks and stories with the bosses they work under. Bob is the VIP of henchmen, all thanks to 5 years of working with the Joker. As well as the fact that he is the only one present who hasn’t yet encountered Batman. Bob is a legend to the others for being the longest surviving person to work with the Joker. On top of never having his nose broken by the Bats, both of which seem impossible. In truth, there was no real trick to it. It mostly was luck with a bit of psychology that has gotten Bob this far. Bob survived the wrath of Joker simply because he likes Bob’s name. Avoiding Batman wasn’t complex either. Joker’s plans are not like the other crime lords. The Joker will set up a crazy plan, then he will pull the trigger to make Batman aware of it, then Batman stops the Joker's plan. The pattern never changed during those five years. Bob seems to be the only one who noticed this. Most of the gang didn't want to volunteer for prep duty as it is the riskiest part job. Drop a barrel or plug in the wrong outlet, then you’re either dead or hoping you were dead if the mistake interfered with Joker's plans. Bob was never worried about the risk, he used to work as a daredevil to help pay his way through college and graduate school. He double-majored in Homeland Security and Architecture to be a Security planner. Security planning was how Bob met Joker. Bob was hired by the City of Gotham to create a new security system for all of Arkham when the asylum needed to be rebuilt after an explosive prison break carried out by the Joker. Bob’s blueprints were built into the reconstruction efforts, but Bob only got half of what he was owed and lost the case when he went to court. Bob chose to sell a copy of the blueprint plans on the black market, hoping to make up some of the financial damage from the court case. The buyer happens to be the Joker, who was impressed by the plans. Apparently, it took him 10 minutes to find all the escape routes when Joker boasts it normally takes him 2 minutes at the longest. A man sits next to Bob and orders a drink for himself and Bob. Bob looked at the man displeased.

“Kind of you to get me a drink, pal. But I left the others to have some alone time.”

“I won’t take much time of your time Bob.” the man politely said. He didn’t dress like any of the other henchmen. His outfit was too clean and reflected more of a higher class profession, like a lawyer or a doctor, neither would come to a dive like Porky’s. 

“I have a client who is interested in hiring you for a major operation we are planning for Gotham city. Someone with your skillset would be perfect for the operation.” Bob took a big gulp of the beer and glared at the man. 

“You got the wrong guy pal. I am just a low life thug like everyone else in this bar. I’m not a good fit for higher class fellows such as yourself. What could I possibly offer that no one else in this bar could?” The man smiled and took a more dignified swig of his drink. 

“Working for Joker for five years is no small feat. On top of never meeting Batman, you've never been seen at any of the scenes of Joker’s activities. Your record is practically spotless compared to these men.” This was true.

Other than some minor legal infractions from college, Bob had no major crimes under his belt. He was clean in comparison to the others. The man kept going, 

“Besides, if you ever get caught by Batman, your rare condition would make it impossible for him to get information.” 

Bob look at the man with a shock expression on his face. Bob has a rare condition called Congenital Insensitivity to Pain or CIP for short. He has never been able to experience physical pain and has nearly died from it on many occasions. But his time as a Daredevil gave him the strength to overcome his fear of death and not allow his condition to hold him back. Bob’s shock wore off and was finally able to speak. 

“How the hell did you-” “We have sources, Bob.” The man cut him off. “And we have plenty of resources to be sure your medical bills are always covered.” 

Despite being paid well, crime doesn’t have an insurance package. When something goes wrong, Bob has to make sure his pay goes to medical bills. He'd gone days without food because he didn’t have the money to cover eating and medical treatment. Bob finishes off his beer and looks at the man. 

“Bills being covered is rather tempting. But I’m loyal to Joker. Sorry to say, you don’t simply quit team Joker and expect to live to tell the tale.” The man nods and stood up. 

“I understand fully, but if you ever change your mind, here’s my card. We can keep you safe, even from a man like the Joker.” He left his card on the bar and left to sit at a table. Bob looks at the card. A Plain white card with a symbol of an Owl and his number below it. Bob was pocketing the card when his phone started to ring. He looks to see a text message from an unknown number. The text said: ‘The king is dead. Slain by the Queen.’ All senior members of the Joker gang learn a code if ever caught by the cops during the prep stage. What was texted to Bob, was the worst-case

scenario finally realized. He didn’t have long before the other crime lords got word of this. He replied: ‘Prepare for the hunt. Gather the others at the Crypt. Long live the King.’ Bob got up and left Porky’s. The man in the nice suit watched as Bob and the other Joker members leave. He smiled. He knew what had happened, and what will happen next.


End file.
